Surviving a Kitchen Renovation – Part 1
Introduction
If you are looking for a challenge, why not plan to remodel your kitchen? It is one way to give your home that new home feeling. It also gives you a chance to entirely – or moderately, change the look or style of this special room in your home. In the process, you will can easily accomplish 2 important goals in many home remodels. You will increase the investment in your house, while adapting it to today’s life styles.
Today’s kitchens are among the most versatile they have ever been. Kitchens are no longer uni-purpose rooms. They exist for more than for simply cooking and serving a meal. Today’s kitchens are gathering places. They are favorite hangouts for the family and their friends and guests. As the song goes, “You can always find me in the kitchen at parties.”
Kitchens are where you and your family can cook and eat. It is also here where you and your tribe can work and even play. The kitchen is where the family often comes together. From here, many parents and individuals organize their daily activities. The kitchen table, corner nook or counter top becomes the place where people sit, a cold or hot drink in hand. Leaning over one of the kitchen’s many surfaces, pen in hand or computer at their finger tips, they sit and pay their bills or plan a holiday. The kitchen is also the scene of many a heart-to-heart talk over a cup or 2 of coffee.
The kitchen is the heart of the house. It is also one of the first rooms many home buyers check out when they come to view a home. This is the so-called “hot ticket” among estate agents. It is 1 of several reasons why people decide to remodel their kitchen. It increases the chances of their house being sold.
There are other reasons to remodel your home. They vary from family to family and person to person. Among the most popular is growth. The family has increased in size. Therefore, the usage of the kitchen has gone up. As a result, the family requires more space in the kitchen. Rather than move, they decide to remodel the kitchen so it will be more functional.
Another top-of-the-list motivating factor is modernization. The kitchen you have may date from an earlier time. It needs to move into the current century. Perhaps, you want to bring in new gadgetry. There are not enough receptacles to handle all your current small appliances. As a result, you need to modernize the kitchen – increase its ability to handle the new equipment. The same rationale applies to making the kitchen a “greener” environment. New green technology may require remodeling.
There is another popular reason why people alter their kitchen. They are simply tired of how it looks. Some want a new look or style. This may seem frivolous. In economic hard time, why spend money for a new look? It may seem, to some, a sign of boredom or restlessness or an indication some people have way too much time on their hands. Yet, deciding to renovate what looks like a perfectly good kitchen, may also be a way of inexpensively increasing your satisfaction with your house. You may want a new home, but economic times or circumstances may force you to opt for remodeling.
Remodeling a kitchen is a challenging job. The reason is simple. The kitchen is one of the most complex rooms in the house. A complete remodeling job will involve a wide variety of tasks and trades people. There is carpentry work to be done. There are also electric systems to be addressed. In no other room is there such a complex intersection of the various systems that make living comfortable.
Yet, remodelling does not have to be a major headache. There are steps to take and certain tips to heed, if you want to make the job easier. The following chapters are a guide to lighten the load – to help make the undertaking a little easier. The first thing you have to do is to take a deep breath and identify your goal.
Planning The Dream Kitchen
Everyone has a dream home. This fantasy differs for each individual. Certain home-focused and many general purpose magazines contain hundreds of pictures annually of the “ideal” home. Decorating magazines and design gurus tell and show you how to create the perfect kitchen for your home. Every month or 2 various different types of magazines will devote page-after-page to the “perfect” home.
Among these many pictures, you will find probably find your dream kitchen. You may cut out the pictures or download the image from the net. You have imbedded in your head, the ideal. Now, it is up to you to plan this dream kitchen. The best way to start is to sit down with a pen or pencil and paper or at the computer. Once comfortable, you can take that first step toward remodeling. You set down your goals.
Identify Your Goal
It is crucial you know what your goal is in remodeling your kitchen. It will help you define what you need to do. It will also set you on the path toward the right decisions you will need to make to improve, alter, transform or simply update your kitchen. The process will be long. It can be convoluted. You can simplify it right from the start by being clear in your methods and approach. Right now, you need to define two things: the reason for your make over – the Goal, and what your plan to do.
The goal does not have to be a complex one. For many it is simple. Your goal could be:
- More worktop space
- Improved lighting
- More storage space
- Modern appliances
- More room to manoeuvre
- an updated look
- A new style
You may just be tired of the way the kitchen looks. Alternatively, you could have moved into this particular house with the very intention of changing the kitchen to reflect your lifestyle.
When you have identified your goal, you then need to consider what you plan to do. This is where fantasy and reality may collide. While you may want to tear down the kitchen to its bare walls, you need to consider other inherent or pre-existing factors. As a result, before you can actually discuss the new kitchen plans, you need to look at the old or existing kitchen reality. You have to look at what you have before you can fully analyse how you can realise your goal.
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